July 06, 2012

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky - Simon Mawer

Mawer’s
book, The Glass Room, was a complete winner for me when I read it in 2009 so I had no hesitations in picking up his new book, The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. Even though
I finished the book at the end of last month I am going to cheat a little and include it in my
Paris in July reading list as so much of the book took place in Paris and rural
France.

I can’t say
that I found The Girl Who Fell From the Sky quite as captivating and original as The Glass Room but it was still a wonderful read.

The book is
set during WW2, the main character Marian Sutro is a young half British/half French
woman working for a war department in London when she approached by a secret
agency to train for undercover work in France. It all seems a little surreal
and convenient the way she is recruited but I guess that is how things were done?? I would like to read some actual accounts from women who had worked in these sorts of positions and agencies during war time to compare - although I am sure Mawer did his research. As well as her role as an undercover agent
there is very much a personal side to Marian’s story as her arrival in Paris
during the German occupation brings her into direct contact with a past family
friend and potential lover, Clement.

There are
all the elements of a traditional spy story here with undercover missions,
double agents and a feeling on behalf of the reader that we are never really
quite sure who’s side everyone is on. But there is also very much the coming of
age story of Marian.

Beautiful,
tight prose keep the story moving and although this book didn’t hold the same
magic as The Glass Room for me it was still a fantastic story with characters
to cling to.

I loved both this book and The Glass Room, but I preferred this one. I can see that The Glass Room is more complex and has more layers, but I found The Girl Who Fell From the Sky so engaging. I loved Marian's story and that ending was fantastic. Glad you enjoyed it too.

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